Local Goa News

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Amendment to trees Act will make Goa a concrete jungle: Timble

MARGAO: Strongly objecting to Goa Preservation of Trees (Amendment) Bill, 2016, Goa Forward president Prabhakar Timble said that this amendment will make Goa a ‘paradise of concrete.’
The amendment redefines the tree. To qualify as a tree, the trunk must be 10 cm in diameter while under the earlier specification, the trunk had to be 5 cm diameter.
“Goa Forward demands that this unscientific and suicidal amendment be withdrawn because it will have irreparable and irreversible effects,” said president of Goa Forward, registration process of which as political party is nearing completion.
He said the government should provide some incentives to private forest land owners to maintain them as plantations.
Goa Forward secretary Mohandas Lolienkar said that if the government is serious over private forests, then it should work out a quarterly or yearly compensation package for the owners.
“Some have sold forest land and under the investment promotion board. The government has approved the same under eco-tourism. Without a compensation package, it is an unfair treatment,” he added.
Commenting on the recently appointed Lokayukta, Timble criticised the BJP government for delaying the process earlier and said that the Lokayutka is without any investigating machinery. “For public grievances to be addressed, Lokayukta should have its own investigating machinery, otherwise, any case of corruption would be rejected for want of evidence,” he said.